What Makes a Good Logo - 5 Things to Remember

For every entrepreneur, it’s important to understand “What makes a good logo” for their business presence.

Successful businesses never compromise on logo design.

Being in a logo design business for the last 10 years, I have worked with hundreds of clients who ask to design a logo for their business and only 30 to 40% really understand the significance of good logo design. Some understands but have some budget constraints so rely on premade designs. Others ask for custom designs but in the limited budget so today I thought to write about logo design importance and the basic principles that play a big role to make a great logo.

Before delving into this topic, I’d like to mention that logo design is the identity of your business. From a small level to big enterprise businesses every business presents with the logo design.

So, you can imagine how important is this…

Many people make a decision about a business after looking at their logo design.

If the business logo disseminates a strong message then it can leave a long trail of success.

Before making a logo design, every designer and business owner should have this in mind.

Powerful logo design presents a strong business message to their clients and customers.

Here, I’d like to focus on successful business brands that have powerful logo designs and customer loves those designs. Facebook, Coca Cola, Google, Apple, Target and other famous companies have such an inspiring and meaningful logo design. 99design shared a post on famous logo design which is awesome to have a look.

5 Qualities of Good Logo Design

If you are going to make a logo for your business or already have but need some revamping then make sure to have these qualities in your logo.

Simple: Your logo design should be simple enough to deliver the right message to targeted people.
Engaging: A powerful brand logo should be engaging to make a strong connection with their audience.
Memorable: Great logos always leave an impact in mind and a person can easily recognize the brand.
Competitive: Your logo should disseminate a strong brand presence among competitors.
Timeless: Make sure your logo design should be classy and improve brand value with time.

Basically, a good logo design based on these qualities attributes or you might call it characteristics of a logo design. Simple enough to remember. Easily build brand recognition and should be adaptable to endorse customer trust.

Let’s discuss in details:

1) Simple – Less is More

Yes, simple logos are awesome and easily build customer engagements due to simplicity and a unique call of action. When I look at famous brands most of the logos are following the rule of simplicity. Nike, Apple, Zara, Addidas, Gucci all are simple and versatile.

Simple logos basically plays with typography in a way to make it unique and eye-catching. Many of my clients asked to create minimalist logos for their business. To be very honest, I always feel great when I sketch something with minimalist concept. It gives me the freedom to think in a simple using the creative approach of design.

Simple logo design basically connects the concept with a brand value. For example; if you look at the most famous Zara brand. It has a text-based simple logo with a meaningful concept. Due to design evolution, they have released the new version of Zara logo in 2019 designed by famous advertising agency Baron & Baron. The design is quite compressed in terms of design as the characters are overlapping with each other. Many people think it’s confusing while others are happy. The design look is simple and minimalist. The designer played with the Serif font to connect the letters to give it a connected look.

Simple logo follows the philosophy of less is more means the design will look simple, clean and minimalist but the concept will present the design in a unique, creative and abstract way.

2) Engaging – Connect with Target Market

Above example of Zara new logo will endorse this attribute of logo design. For any brand success, engagement is important to connect with the right market audience and it should reflect from the logo design. In Zara new logo design, you can see how the designer connects the distant characters with each other to give it feel of making a connection and creating engagements with their clients and customers.

Being a designer, I always focus on my custom and premade design to connect with the right audience. Engaging designs are eye-catching and give a memorable call of action to their clients and customers to get connect with them.

Let’s take an example of the Subway logo which showing pointing arrows at the first and last letter of logo with yellow and green color. Basically showing a connection of fresh vegetables and other ingredients to their shop. It will engage the veg lover sandwich eaters to follow their brand.

To make a connection in specific logo design, designer can easily play with letters, symbols, and icons to give it an engaging look. Engaging logo can improve ROI (return on investment) as it has the capacity to connect with masses that can be your client or customer.

Design Speaks to Connect Prospects…

Here is a simple feminine style realtor logo based on a text-based concept. Simple, elegant and conveying message to potential market about the business. If you are a female real estate agent and looking for a design concept then this design will value to your credentials as it’s simple, engaging and has the tendency to connect with the target audience with warmth and affection.

3) Memorable

To make a logo memorable and distinct, the design needs to be clearly defined. To make the design memorable designer can play with typography, the psychology of colors and the interconnection of conceptual loops. Minimalist design is the first choice if you are thinking to deliver a memorable logo with strongly defined concept.

It gives a strong call of action as customers can easily recognize and recall the brand as per the need. It improves customer engagement. Strong graphics and beautifully designed concept are also one of the factors of a memorable logo.

Let’s take some examples:

When you see the rounded M on roadside you can easily recognize the Macdonald logo. It’s simple, easy to recall. In the same way, if someone shows you rounded tick sign. You can easily recognize the NIKE logo.

If you are thinking that these brands are famous so we can easily recall them.

So, think twice about your business logo as it should reflect the same concept that can help your consumer to easily recall your brand.

To make the design memorable, you can make some tweaks in lettering, illustration, initials and geometric shapes based on the logo text in a unique way. Never use clip arts and other ready-made icons and silhouettes as it will dissolute your market audience.

Always focus to make a flexible and adaptable design that will help you to get connected with your audience in the long run.

4) Competitive

Another important attribute of great logo design is its competitiveness. Your logo should be competitive enough to stand among competitors in a unique, creative and distinct way.

For example; there are many clothing brands in the market but you can easily recognize Zara among them. So to design a great logo, it important the logo design should have its own value it should not look like a copycat. Your brand should have a unique identity that can connect to your target market and make you distinguished among your competitors.

On a personal note, I interact with many design requirements on a daily basis. Here I am telling you the truth that many people come to me who are inspired by some famous brand and want to get a similar design with their business name that I can’t do that similarly. I design my own logos even my premade logos are uniquely designed.

Your business logo design is the visual bridge between your brand and your customers/clients that connect them according to your company goals, vision, and objectives.

Macdonald and Burger King are two famous fast food points selling almost the same product all over the world. Both are competitors but have competitive business logo design that makes them distinguished.

5) Timeless

If you are following a specific trend or time-specific design then the worth of the logo will be devaluate with time. Try to make a logo with a timeless vision that will last forever by connecting your target market. In a timeless category, I will suggest researching the design philosophy of Macdonald, Coca Cola, Toyota and other famous brands who stand out with their design features. Some brands showcase easy-going logo design but their customers are well connected with them like Pizza hut.

During my research on timeless logos, I found the most logos are minimalist and created using solid colors. The design concept is one of the prior aspects of these logos that stands out among competitors.

Timeless logos basically attract the target market with a memorable experience and speaks up the brand value that creates a significant commitment to its customers.

Needs to Remember What Makes a Good Logo Design

So in conclusion, we have to remember that brand logos have a specific class that speaks their own value to their customers and clients. The great logo design needs to be simple and effective to bound their audience. Confusing, non-related, non-flexible and boring logos stagnant the brand from the target market.

So if you are a logo designer, or a business owner looking forward to starting your business then focus on these areas as the logo is the mirror of your company. It gives the first impression of your brand.

Always remember:

Logo gives a first impression to your brand.

Related Posts:

What Makes a Good Logo – 5 Things to Remember – Dillenium Creatives